Storage tank



June 12, 1945. 1 T ROQER 2,378,159

STORAGE TANK JIA/fd' 7.' ROYER' June l2, 1945. f J, T, ROYER 2,378,159

STORAGE TANK Filed Aug. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Shee-t2 if /4 Z7 Z i. Z Z7 L :if

f E912 /4j 1N V EN TOR.

Patented June 12, 1945 STORAGE TANK james T. Royer, .Mishawaka, Ind., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey.v

Application August 22, 1944, serial No. 550,555

" (C1. o-n.5)

45Claims.

My invention relates to*A storage tanks for liquids and especially for storing gasoline for aviation motors, distilled water for storage battery installations, drinking water, and the like.

For many purposes it is desired to have readily assembled and knocked-down storage tanks for storing various types of liquids, particularly for military installations where mobility is desired. The present invention is animprovement over the structure shown and described in Sawyer application Serial No. 470,700, filedv December 30, 1942. In the Sawyer structures an inside container of flexible material is retained by an outer housing of fabric material, a supporting ground cloth and supporting stakes for the housing,. the stakes extending through the ground cloth and into the earth, the housing andthe ground clotnbeing separable.

' In'some installations difficulties are encountered in driving the stakes into the ground.

Myf invention overcomes this difficultyv by utilizing intermediate stays which engage and rest upon the ground cloth. The housing and the ground cloth are permanently attached to each other. In this construction the rigidity of the Sawyer tank is obtained without the necessity lof driving stakes into the ground.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is aperspective view of one form of the storage tank embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is avertical section through the storage tank shown in Fig. 1 on a plane indicated by the section lines 2-2 and ,d

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of 'a detail of the storage tank. f

The present storage tank comprises an inner container or cellI formed of any suitable lightweight flexible material, preferably textile material, which is substantially inelastic andds inert and impervious to the liquid to be stored. Preferably the Ymaterial is inert to aromatic hydrocarbon fuels. An example of such material is textile fabric impregnated and coated with a suitable synthetic rubber or rubber-like composition such as olene, polysulfide plastic materials,

known in the trade as thiokols, although other plastic materials made of synthetic rubbers may be used. The cell I is preferably of cylindrical form and has a top wall 2, a bottom wall 3, and a connecting sidewall 4. Preferably the fabric impregnated with inert material is cut in pieces of an appropriate size and shape and the pieces are cemented or vulcanized together with or without sewing, as thel case may be, or the joints,

may be rendered impervious to the liquid in any suitable manner known in the art. The edges of the fabric strips constituting the cell I, wherethey may be exposed to the contents of the cell, are covered with sealing tapes v'or strips 5 to prevent a capillary attraction or wicking action from taking place through the fabric.' Tabs 6 formed at the lower corner of the cell I `extend. outwardly and are provided with openings .8 having grommets 9 seated therein, as shown in detail in Fig. 2. The tabs may be `formed by cementing or sewing an auxiliary strip I9 to the bottom wall 3 of the cell and looping it back onitself and then extending it upwardly on theside wall 4. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the sidewall`4 is made with a joint II constituted by overlapping reinforcing fabric layers arranged beneath the upper end o f the strip I0, although the details of the cell may be varied. A ground cloth I4 of textile materiaL'such as heavy canvas, preferably circular in form, ,andof conslderablyfgreater `diameter than the diameter of the cell I, is placed beneath the bottom wall 3 of the cell and extends outwardly ofthe tabs 6. The cloth I4 is provided with a series of openings I5 in alignment-,with the openings 6 in the tabs 6. The openings I5 are provided with grommets AIl so that securing bolts I1 may be passed through grommets 9 and I6 for securing the'tabs B to the ground cloth. When so secured, the tabs 6 retain the lower portion of the cell in anextended position Ywithin a -housing i8.

' The cellv I is surrounded and supported by the housing I8 which is formed of any suitable ilexible and substantially inelastic material, vsuch as canvas of suitable strength. This outer wall is illustrated as a cylinder the diameter of which may be less than the diameter of the cell I when the latter isunconfned. IWith this construction, when the cell is filled with liquid, its sidewall is slack and most of the horizontal hydrostatic forces due to the 'liquid are supported by the housing I8, there being'little stress on thecell itself due to the presence of liquid. Accordingly, the cell wall 4 may be madevof relatively light weight material and requires only a minimum quantity of impervious material for its construction.

The housing is supported in an operative position by a plurality of stays I9 which rest on the ground cloth I4 'externally of the housing to which theyare secured by sleeves or pockets 20 and 2|. The sleeves 20 and 2l are prevented from slipping along stays by bolts 22.

The stays I9 are connected at their upper ends Hooks 21 depend from the pins 25 and support Y a rope 28 which extends through a series of loops 29 formed on the upper edge ofA the cell I and thereby support the top and yside' Walls of the cell.

. If desired, a central loop 33 may bev provided in the top Wall 2 for supporting or raising'the cell I. The cell I is provided Withacover plate 3| having an access cap 32 and dischargepipe 34, preferably exible, if desired. Referring particularly to Fig. 3,. the ground cloth I 4 is permanently secured in the housing I8 by stitches 35 which pass through an inturned ange 36 formed on one of the plies 31 of the housing I8. This joint mayalso be formed by the use of a suitable cement, but in any case it serves to permanently secure the ground'cloth I4 to the housing I8 so that the housing and the ground cloth become a permanent unit for assembly and transportation purposes. Also, the joint between the ground cloth and the housing serves to retain the Asleeves 2| in their proper relative positions, in part at least, by the tension set up in the ground cloth itself. Slots 38 are provided in the plies of the housing I8 closely adjacent the ground cloth It for the reception of the tabs 6.

When the device is assembled, the'ground cloth and the housing are unrolled and the ground cloth is drawn taut. The stays I9 are inserted in the sleeves and 2i and the braces 24'are applied and secured. The tabs 6 are Worked through the slots38 and the bolts I1 are secured in the grommets 9 and I5. The housing IS is then raised and secured by the bolts 22. Thereafter the rope 28 is raised and hung on the hooks 21. If an auxiliary lifting device is available, the loop 30 may be used in raisins the top Wall of the cell.

When it is desired to dismantle the storage tank, the cell I is emptied and collapsed. `The housing I8 is dropped, the braces 24 removed, the stays I9 removed, and the bolts I1 are loosened to separate the housing and the ground cloth from themselves. It is to be understood that variations in the steps `of dismantling or assembling the storage tank may be made.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to A be understood that the invention may be otherwise modified in accordance with the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent'is:

tially cylindrical connecting side wall, an outer Wall of flexible substantially inelastic material surrounding the container, a sheet of ilexible material constituting a ground cloth secured to the bottom wall of. the container and extending substantially beyond the outer wall, means for securing the ground cloth to the outer Wall, a plurality of upright substantially rigid supports detachably secured to the outer wall with their lower ends resting on the ground cloth, substantiallyrigid means for connecting the upper ends of the supports, and means for suspending the upper portion of the container from the upper portions ofsaid supports.

v2,-A liquid storage device comprising in combination,` a closed container formed of flexible substantially inelastic impervious material and having a bottom wall,` a top wall'and a substantially cylindrical connecting side Wall, an outer wall of flexible substantially inelastic material surrounding the container, a sheet of flexible material constituting a ground cloth detachably secured to the bottom wall of the container and extending substantially beyond the outer wall, means for permanently securing the ground cloth to the outer wall,` a plurality ofupright substantially rigid supports detachably secured to the outer wall with their lower ends resting on the ground cloth, substantially rigid means for con-'- necting the upper ends 'of the supports,- and means for suspending ther upper portion of the container from the upper portions of said supports.

3. In a demountable storage tank, an `inner container of treated textile material comprising a bottom Wall, a side Wall and outwardly extendn ing tabs disposed about the lower portion of' the container, a housing of flexible textilematerial having slots at its lower edge for receiving said tabs, a ground cloth permanently secured to the housing and extending outwardly thereof, and means for securing the tabs to the ground cloth externally of the housing.

4. In a demountable storage tank, any inner container of treated textile material comprising a bottom Wall, a side Wall and outwardlyv extending tabs disposed about the lower portion of the container, a housing of flexible textile material having slots at its lower edge for receiving said tabs, a ground cloth permanently secured to the housing and extending outwardly thereof, aligned openings in the tabs and ground cloth externally of the housing, and securing means eo-` operating With said openings for securing the container to the ground cloth to hold the container in its extended position.`

JAMES vfr. Roman.'l 

